The Villages - February 2008 - (Page 36)

Time to play BY DONNA RILEY-LEIN CROQUET According to Barbara Hall, a resident of the Village of Belle Aire and the vicepresident of The Villages Croquet Club, playing croquet is like “chess on grass.” Yes, the game that you played as a child in your backyard can be fraught with very grown-up stratagems. Welcome to The Villages Croquet Club. No, these practitioners of the “six-wicket” game or the “golf croquet” game aren’t upset if you remember fun times smashing your cousins’ balls. It’s just that they play a more sophisticated, cerebral version of the game. Of course, the venerable game, perhaps descended from the old British games of Pall-Mall, Ground Billiards and/or closh, has had its ups and downs over the years. And it hasn’t always been so cerebral. “The game was banned in Boston,” chuckled Barbara. “This is one of the few games where men and women play together on an equal footing. Occasionally, you’d have a young man and woman go into the bushes together to look for a lost ball. Or you might see a bit of a woman’s ankle. The ministers in Boston weren’t going to stand for that.” Dressed in her white croquet attire, Janice Martin takes aim. Sports & Recreation 36 FEBRUARY 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - February 2008

The Villages - February 2008
Contents
The Leader of the Bands
Romance Night
Sampler
Lessons in Sports
Q&A
Health
Sports & Recreation
Food
Shopping & Dining Guide
Villages Greenery
Snapshots
Brain Exercises
Major Events
Rewind

The Villages - February 2008

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